The Goodbye Scene
by Purple Shamrock 17
Summary: Keith's actual death scene, plain and simple. I suggest you have a supply of tissues before reading. I hope it's not too corny and please review!


**Author's Note: I know you probably all think I'm crazy writing **_**another**_** Keith fic when I'm already working on two, but let me assure that this is only a oneshot. I figured that someone had to be brave enough to write Keith's actual death scene so here is my interpretation of what I thought happened as well as what I saw in a really random dream I had of his death. So, grab some tissues (yes, I was even on the verge of tears) and please R&R!**

**PS: I imagined this taking place right after the airport scene.**

The Goodbye Scene

"_After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."_

_----J.K Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone _

* * *

"_I'm staying with you until you leave, I don't care how much time we have! You get that, you stupid jerk?!" _

She hadn't known how much time they would really have when she had said those words. How could she? She had no idea of his disease's progression. Well, she knew it was very far advanced but she had hoped that they would have had more time than they actually had.

They had two weeks.

Two _fucking_ weeks.

Everything had been fine after their first 'goodbye scene' they had spent as much time together as they could, doing whatever they could to make time slow down just a little bit.

And then the pneumonia came.

She blamed herself, of course. She told herself that if she hadn't made Keith spend so much time with her that he wouldn't have been so tired and had gotten sick. But Henry assured her that there was nothing she could have done differently and that it was no one's fault except the cancer's.

Now, she was sitting at his hospital bedside, holding his clammy hand in hers and listening to his heart monitor, each steady beep telling her that his life's clock was ticking down and would eventually stop.

She knew that Keith wanted to die at home, in a familiar environment but he had been feeling so sick the past few days that Henry had taken him to the hospital, hoping that something would help his son.

They had given him an IV with nutrients to help his body fight off the pneumonia and it had helped…at first. But eventually, with his body already so weak, the disease worsened and now here he was, dying right before her eyes.

"Keith," she heard Henry say softly from where he sat on the other side of the bed. "Natalie's here, do you think you can wake up for her?"

Keith mumbled something incoherent as he dragged his eyes open and Natalie saw immense pain and fatigue radiating from them.

"Hey, partner," he whispered.

"Hey," she replied, squeezing his hand. She wanted to say more but what could she possibly say to him that he didn't already know?

She reached forward with her other hand and placed it on his cheek, stroking his dark hair with her fingertips, he instantly leaned into her touch and sighed heavily. "So, I guess this is our real goodbye scene, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so," she said, her voice cracking.

He looked at her sadly. "Don't cry, pumpkin love. I don't wanna see you cry."

"I know, Keith, I just…I don't like seeing you in pain."

He gave her wan smile at that and then rolled over to face Henry who instantly leaned forward and cupped his son's face in his hands. Even though she was barely five feet away from them, she couldn't hear what they were saying (and neither did she want to) and as she waited for Keith to roll over again, she was able to fully see how much his cancer had changed him.

True, he still looked like the Keith she knew and loved but he had lost a lot of weight since their talk at the airport and now looked like a shell of his former buoyant self. The harsh white lights of his hospital room didn't help his light complexion either; they just made him look even paler and thinner than he was. The fact that he wheezed slightly when he talked, despite the aid of an oxygen tube in his nose also added to the depressing sight.

Natalie nearly started to cry when she watched as Henry kissed Keith on the crown of his head, hugged him and then got to his feet with some difficulty, as Keith was still clinging to his shirt. Once he had gently pryed his son's fingers off of his shirt and stroked his hair once, Henry said to Natalie's questioningl look. "He wants to spend his remaining time with you. Don't worry, we've already said our goodbyes." He paused to draw a shaky breath and then said, "I'll be out in the hall if you need me."

Then before Natalie could protest, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

When he was gone, Natalie leaned as close to Keith as she could so that their noses were almost touching. "I love you," she whispered as she kissed him on the lips. "and I don't want you to leave. God, Keith, I love you so much, please don't leave me like this."

"I gotta leave, partner, it's just part of the plan for me like it has been for a long time," he whispered. She kissed him once more on the lips before she sat back and resumed her original position, holding his hand while Keith looked at her, his green eyes full of sadness and pain.

"Can I tell you a secret, partner?" he breathed after a moment.

"You can tell me anything, Keith."

"I—I'm scared," he admitted pitifully. "I told myself before that I wasn't but…I am. I'm so scared, I don't wanna go like this."

"I know, Keith, but just think, you're gonna see your mom again," said Natalie.

A smile broke his face then and his eyes sparkled like they used to when he was happy. "Yeah," he whispered happily. "Yeah, I _am_ gonna see my mom again!"

Natalie smiled and was about to go on when the door to Keith's room creaked up and Henry poked his head into the room. "Natalie," he said in a strange, shocked voice. "Can you come out here for a minute?"

Natalie was about to protest when she saw the look on his face and nodded. Turning back to Keith, she said firmly. "I'll be right back, don't you _dare_ go anywhere, partner."

Then, she got up and followed Henry out into the hall. And when she stepped outside of his room, she couldn't help but gasp softly.

A crowd of people lined the hall, all staring at her with a wide range of emotions on their faces. Her family was standing closest to her. Both her parents looked like they were about to cry while Cynthia was audibly sobbing into Zach's chest, whose face was expressionless. Across from her parents were Brooke (who was trying very hard to smile at her) Trish, Robbie, and of all people, Raff, who nodded to Natalie when she spotted him.

There was also Mr. Miles, Andy the mechanic, Al who was standing next to Henry along with a man and woman whom Natalie's assumed were Billy's parents and way down at the end, she could see the two girls who had shared their lab station.

Natalie stared at all of them and they stared back, finally she said, "What…what are you guys doing here? It's seven-thirty in the morning!"

"We're here for Keith," said Mr. Miles. "I think we all mutually decided to come no matter what time it was."

"The principal told us about how sick he was," Brooke explained. "He didn't mention his name, just said that one of our classmates was going to leave us before graduation and we should all keep him in our thoughts. And I remembered how upset you've been recently so I asked Mr. Miles about it and he…he told that it was Keith."

"And Brooke called me and told me about him," Raff added, his voice strangly hollow. "And then we started this phone tree thing and came up with the idea to come over here and see him."

"But it was Brooke who came up with the best part," said Trish, who nudged her then and said, "Give it to her, we probably don't have much time."

Brooke stepped forward then and pressed something square and hard into Natalie's hands. "The principal gave me this, said Keith shouldn't miss the best part of high school." She smiled at Natalie then and pushed her gently away. "Now, stop staring and get back to him! He needs you now!"

Natalie nodded and as she turned back to go inside Keith's room, she glanced down at the object that Brooke had given her and saw that it had the insignia of their high school on it.

It was a diploma, _Keith's_ diploma.

She smiled at such a simple gesture but the smile quickly faded when she walked into Keith's room again and saw that his eyes were closed.

Panic filled her then and she dropped the diploma as she ran to his side. "Keith, no!" she yelled at him. "Keith, don't leave me! Wake up, partner, wake up! Come on, wake up! Open your eyes, Keith, _please_!" Had she not been so panicky she would have noticed that had he actually died, his heart monitor would have been screaming incessantly and it wasn't. But this vital observation was lost on Natalie as she gently shook him, crying, "Keith,_ please_ not now! Please!"

"I'm still here, Natalie," he mumbled as he cracked his eyes open so that they looked like chips of jade. "You can't get rid of me that fast."

She sighed with relief as she sank back into her chair. "I didn't think I could, Keith." She joked lightly.

"Sorry for scaring you," he mumbled. "I…I'm just so….so _tired_."

She caressed his cheek affectionately. "I know, honeybun, I know."

"I—I think it's almost time…for me…to," he started to say but Natalie shushed him and then bent to pick his diploma and moved as close as she could to him without actually climbing onto the bed and said, "There's a whole ton of people outside. Brooke and Mr. Miles and Andy and Al, my family and those two girls from our lab station and do you know what, Keith? They're all here for you and they wanted to me to give you this." Here, she opened the diploma and showed him the proof that he had graduated high school.

He smiled that trademark lopsided smile of his as he stroked the soft surface of the holder. He seemed to be preoccupied so Natalie placed on the bedside table and looked back at him.

He looked exhausted. He kept blinking heavily as if his eyes hurt him and he was wheezing more than usual. Knowing what this meant and dreading it, Natalie took his hand again and said softly. "Keith, it's okay, you can go if you can't hold on anymore."

"No! Everything is…not...o-okay," he gasped. " 'Cause there's still…something….I have to….tell you."

"And what's that?"

"That…that I love you, partner," he whispered. He squeezed her hand and Natalie tried to blink away the tears at his confession but she let them come anyway as his eyes drifted close and the heart monitor began to wail.

**Author's Note: I know they don't actually 'say goodbye' in this story like the title says but I really wanted end it how it did it. Also, Acciodanrad9 and I had a PM disscussion on how long we thought Keith had after the airport scene and two weeks was what we came up with, so thanks to her in that regard!**

**So, that's how I imagined Keith's death scene. I hope it wasn't too corny, I really tried to make it as realistic as possible. When you're done crying, I'd love to know your thoughts!**


End file.
